20th Century Fox's Rise of the Apes has been bouncing all over the calendar, but now the studio seems have settled on this August 5th. To celebrate, CBM re-presents this exclusive interview with the film's director Rupert Wyatt. Interview conducted by and copyright Edward Gross

As has been well established by this point, the film explores the ramifications of genetic experimentation on chimpanzees by a scientist (James Franco) who is desperately searching for a cure to his father’s (John Lithgow) Alzheimer’s Disease. The results of this experimentation triggers a series of dominoes that will result in humanity’s decline and the ascension of the apes.

Wyatt, best known for directing The Escapist, can’t say much about the film at this stage, though he does reveal that the film will feature different facets of evolution that are as significant for the apes as the discovery of fire and learning how to use a wheel were for humans.

“There are a lot of things that relate to how we’ve evolved as a species,” he says, “and the great thing about movies, and the ability to do this in a story, is we’ve been able to show all of that evolution in one generation of this chimp [Caesar, played by Andy Serkis]. This movie is laying the groundwork for what is to come, and of course we’ve tried to be faithful out of respect for the original and out of love for the original. But at the same time, like any re-imagining of an ultimately very mythological story, there are changes. My approach has been to imagine this as a bit like a Bible story in a way. This is a story that’s going to be told by generations of chimpanzees as the passing of stories down from father to son in the future civilization of the apes. So when they talk about the heroic Buck the Gorilla, they will talk about him in mythical terms, because he was the first gorilla to rise up. The same with Caesar. So it’s a very ambitious story, and a very challenging one to tell.

“We are an origins story, in the purest sense of the word,” Wyatt continues. “My inspiration is that if you take those final lines from Charlton Heston [in the original Planet of the Apes] on the beach, looking up at the Statue of Liberty, and he’s shouting up at the sky, ‘You did it! You really went and did it!’, we discovered that we as a civilization went to hell in a hand basket. Now obviously that was the 1968 film made at the height of the Cold War, and with the threat of nuclear war ever present. The thing is that all of those things that really reflected the culture then, today, within movie making and storytelling, we’re not in that dissimilar a world. Even more so, one might say. So the world within which we’ve told this story is a world of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, of economic unrest, the fear of terrorism… so many things. That’s a great way to kick off why our civilization has come to an untimely end, and this is the beginning of a new one.”

He does emphasize that Caesar: Rise of the Apes doesn’t go as far as showing the civilization that’s to come. “It’s just beginning,” he says, “the rest is the sequel, and hopefully there will be many more after that. I think the perfect sequel to this would be the actual war between the apes and the humans, which could be a fun story to tell.”

At Cinemacon, 20th Century Fox were handing out promotional calendar's with various images from their upcoming movies, including our first glimpse of the villainous Caesar... Set in San Francisco, a young scientist desperately searches for a way to cure his ailing father’s Alzheimer’s. He begins immediate working by testing the cure on chimpanzees. When one of his test subjects, Caesar, begins to show rapid mental evolution, the scientist takes him home to save him from cruel lab owners. As Caesar’s intelligence grows, so do his ambitions for freedom and power.

UPDATE: Andy Serkis Confirmed for Rise of the Planet of the Apes Sequel With Rise of the Planet of the Apes being a big hit for the studio, Andy Serkis who did the motion capture work for 'Caesar', has signed on to reprise his role in the planned sequel. More after the jump...

Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a surprise hit this summer, both critically and financially, grossing over $450 million worldwide. Now, according to Deadline, Andy Serkis who played 'Caesar' has signed on for the sequel, since his contract was for only one film.

"The studio just closed what I’m told is a healthy seven-figure deal for Andy Serkis to reprise his role as lead ape Caesar. Serkis had only signed on for one movie, so his reps had leverage in ensuring that he come back to continue leading the ape takeover in multiple future installments of the series. Director Rupert Wyatt’s original deal came with a sequel option, so he’s locked."

UPDATE: With some fans trying to get the studio to push the Oscar campaign for his performance, Deadline has an update:

"Fox informs me that the studio will wage an Oscar campaign for Andy Serkis for Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

While Planet of the Apes directed by Tim Burton was a box office success, many fans and critics felt that overall, it was a disappointing remake. Well, Mark Wahlberg, who had the leading role in the film, feels the same way. Talking to MTV, he said that the whole thing was rushed, and that the film was not ready to be released:

If he saw the Rupert Wyatt-directed film Rise of the Planet of the Apes:

"I haven't seen it yet, but I heard it was pretty damn good. Well, ours wasn't. It is what it is. Ours wasn't."

"They didn't have the script right. They had a release date before he had shot a foot of film. They were pushing him and pushing him in the wrong direction. You have got to let Tim do his thing."

But, according to Wahlberg, that was the best time he had on a film set:

"I have no better time on any movie than I had working with Tim. I had the most amazing time with Tim. I run to be on the set with him. We were doing reshoots, and he came out with me to Paris. We're in the club. Tim was in the club, man. Tim was in the club. Then he'd be drawing people, and all of his caricatures looked the same. He'd be drawing people in the club."

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Writer On What We Will Won't See In The Movie

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes was something of a surprise to many people - emerging as a firm fan-favorite around these parts especially - so there is quite a bit of anticipation for the follow up. But what can we expect to see from Caesar and his hairy pals? As any fan of the original series of films will know, time travel plays a very big part, so should we expect to see this explored in Dawn? Total Film asks one half of the movie's writing/production team what elements from the original Apes saga will inform the sequel, and while Jaffa remains tight lipped on plot details, he does address the above issue..

"I don't foresee that. But it's interesting you should ask that, because it's the one big element that we made a conscious decision not to explore in the first one, and we were worried that there might be some backlash in the science fiction community because of it. When the story first came together we were very, very excited, and yet before we pitched it, I thought, 'The one thing missing though is time travel. But it's not necessary for this particular telling'. And I don't really foresee it, to tell you the truth."

So it seems that while this sequel might take a few nods from the movies Rise had most in common with such as Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, it doesn't sound likely that we will build up to or lead directly into the events of the first Planet Of The Apes - at least not in a time-hopping Charlton Heston kinda way. Any fans of the originals annoyed by this, or do you think it's the right way to go about it?

Rupert Wyatt will return to direct Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, which will be released May 23rd, 2014.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Writer On What We Will Won't See In The Movie

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes was something of a surprise to many people - emerging as a firm fan-favorite around these parts especially - so there is quite a bit of anticipation for the follow up. But what can we expect to see from Caesar and his hairy pals? As any fan of the original series of films will know, time travel plays a very big part, so should we expect to see this explored in Dawn? Total Film asks one half of the movie's writing/production team what elements from the original Apes saga will inform the sequel, and while Jaffa remains tight lipped on plot details, he does address the above issue..

"I don't foresee that. But it's interesting you should ask that, because it's the one big element that we made a conscious decision not to explore in the first one, and we were worried that there might be some backlash in the science fiction community because of it. When the story first came together we were very, very excited, and yet before we pitched it, I thought, 'The one thing missing though is time travel. But it's not necessary for this particular telling'. And I don't really foresee it, to tell you the truth."

So it seems that while this sequel might take a few nods from the movies Rise had most in common with such as Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, it doesn't sound likely that we will build up to or lead directly into the events of the first Planet Of The Apes - at least not in a time-hopping Charlton Heston kinda way. Any fans of the originals annoyed by this, or do you think it's the right way to go about it?

Rupert Wyatt will return to direct Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, which will be released May 23rd, 2014.

Critics and fans agreed that Rise of the Planet of the Apes was fantastic. In fact, so good was Andy Serkis' motion capture performance as 'Caesar' that there was a fair amount of outrage when he wasn't nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" at this year's Academy Awards. Well, in a disappointing turn of events, it now looks as if the sequel (titled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) is without a director as Deadline reports that Rupert Wyatt will not helm the highly anticipated follow-up. Why? Well, it turns out that it's for the same reason that Gary Ross decided not to direct The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. He simply doesn't want to rush the film out for 20th Century Fox's May 23rd, 2014 release date. Fox had no comment, but expect an announcement either way very soon.

Screenwriter Mark Bomback Hired To Work On DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

According to the Hollywood Reporter screenwriter Mark Bomback has been hired by 20th Century Fox to work on the script, that was initially put together by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa. Bomback does have experience with the material as he did uncredited work on the first film. Besides the Total Recall remake, Bomback also worked on Len Wiseman's Live Free or Die Hard

Hollywood Reporter also reports that Andy Serkis will reprise his role of Caesar in the sequel. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes will be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), replacing Rupert Wyatt, who did a marvelous job resurrecting the franchise with his box office hit, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES To Begin Filming In March; Possible Plot Details Revealed

Acting Auditions have posted a new casting call for 20th Century Fox's upcoming sequel Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, and it reveals some new details for the highly anticipated follow-up to last year's Rise Of The Apes reboot. According to the casting call, the film is currently in pre-production and is planning a March 2013 production start date in New Orleans, Louisiana. Principal actor casting for the film's lead roles co-starring roles will be cast in Los Angeles, with additional casting in New Orleans. All extras, photo doubles, and stand-ins will be cast throughout filming in New Orleans. Rupert Wyatt, who directed the first film, was originally planning to helm the sequel until he suddenly dropped out. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) will instead direct, with a script written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Andy Serkis will return to the motion-capture role of Caesar the Ape. Click the source link below for more details on how to submit for acting roles.

Also, the casting call includes what could be a plot summary for Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, teasing the collapse of human society. We previously heard that the sequel probably won't be using time travel, but the following synopsis gives us the first possible details for what we can expect from the film.

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" continues the story of how ultra-intelligent simian Caesar (Andy Serkis) presides over the fall of human civilization. After the apes break out of their facility, a virus breaks out that causes the collapse of human society. The new project is taking the story to the next level, with the apes on the path to emerge as society’s new rulers.

Speaking with Coming Soon while promoting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, actor Andy Serkis offers a small update on 20th Century Fox's Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, the highly anticipated sequel to last year's Rise which will be directed by Matt Reeves (Let Me In). While he doesn't give away a lot of new details, he does confirm that he has met with Reeves, and that filming will begin towards the end of the first quarter of 2013 (it was previously reported that the movie will start production in March). Additionally, Serkis' own motion-capture studio, The Imaginarium, has done pre-testing for Apes. However, their first major project that will be directed by Serkis is an adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm. You can see what Serkis says about that by clicking the source link below. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is set to hit theaters March 23rd, 2014, and you can check out Serkis as Gollum in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on December 14th.

"The interesting thing now will be how Caesar operates in this world - because of the virus that hits at the end of the first movie - and how Caesar brings an accord between the apes and the surviving humans and that's going to be interesting where we take that."

James Franco Most Likely Won't Appear In DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

MTV recently caught up with James "Renaissance Man" Franco and inquired about him possibly reprising his role as Dr. Will Rodman in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, which will now be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield).

MTV: Are you going to be making an appearance in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"?

Franco: I was going to be a small part of the next one. There was a moment when Rupert Wyatt was going to direct the second one. A lot of the human characters that were in the first movie were dead in the sequel that Rupert was going to direct. But there was one scene, between Caesar and my character, maybe even just like on a video that was left behind, but then a lot of things happened, like [former Fox co-chairman] Tom Rothman who was a big part of the first movie, left. Now Rupert's not a part of it so I don't know. My guess is I won't be in it. Nobody's talked to me since Rupert left.

Is the character essential to the sequel? He kind of is. I mean his character did create ALZ-112, which started this whole mess, and is an emotional cornerstone for Caesar. It would certainly make for a smoother bridge between the two films. As for me I'd like to see him comeback, even if it's in a smaller role.

I would like to point out that after Rupert Wyatt left, Mark Bomback was brought in by Reeves to fix the script. So there is a good chance that the script isn't finalized just yet, and that is why Franco's phone has been quiet. I guess we'll find out May 23rd, 2014, when the film is released.

Jason Clarke To Star In DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES; New Plot Details Revealed

According to The Hollywood Reporter, rising actor Jason Clarke (who recently was featured in Zero Dark Thirty) has been cast in the lead role in 20th Century Fox's Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, which is eying a spring production start date. It is currently unknown who he will play, but THR offers some brand new details on the plot, which is rather secretive up to this point. The sequel to 2011's Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) who takes over from Rupert Wyatt, "is set 15 years after the events of 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. One focus is on the group of human scientists who are struggling to survive alone in San Francisco. Another aspect of the story is the struggle of intelligent ape Caesar, played by a returning Andy Serkis, to maintain dominance over his kingdom." The film will be Clarke's first starring role in an American production. The script is currently being written by Mark Bomback (Total Recall, The Wolverine), with Peter Chernin, Dylan Clarke, Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa on board to produce. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is set to hit theaters May 23rd, 2014.

Matt Reeves will re-team with Let Me In actor Kodi Smit-McPhee for Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes. Deadline report the news and mention that he'll play a lead role, but don't reveal which character he'll play. The other day we found out that Zero Dark Thirty's Jason Clarke would play the main lead, and we also found out some new plot details. The movie will be set 15 years after the last one, with a group of scientists struggling to survive alone in San Francisco, while Caesar, played by a returning Andy Serkis, tries to maintain dominance over his kingdom. The script is currently being written by Mark Bomback (Total Recall, The Wolverine), with Peter Chernin, Dylan Clarke, Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa on board to produce. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is set to hit theaters May 23rd, 2014.

Gary Oldman Leads Human Resistance In ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’

Exclusive: Gary Oldman is joining Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, the Matt Reeves-directed sequel to Fox‘s successful ape reboot Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. William Clarke and Kodi-Smit McPhee have already been set. I’m told that Oldman will play Dreyfus, leader of the human resistance after the apes have taken power. Fox has set the film for release on May 23, 2014. Oldman most recently starred in Lawless and The Dark Knight Rises, and will next be seen in the Robocop remake for MGM.

According to Variety, Keri Russell, has landed a role in Matt Reeves' Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, which is a sequel to Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which earned almost half a billion at the worldwide box office.

Russell will be joining a talented cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Kodi-Smit McPhee and Gary Oldman. Currently, Keri Russell is starring in FX's television series, The Americans, and just headlined the alien invasion thriller, Dark Skies.

Video Of Pre-CGI Apes Herding Humans On DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Set

A couple days ago, Matt Reeves' The Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes was spotted filming in front of San Francisco's City Hall. There, pre-computer-generated apes were seen herding a group of human survivors.

In the eighth and final (for now) installment of Great Apes!, we look at the most recent film in the Planet of the Apes franchise, and find a pretty ripping wartime polemic, although one strangely devoid of levity.

I mentioned in the very first Great Apes! article that one of the central appealing factors of the 1968 original was its mixture of apocalyptic commentary and subtle absurdist humor. When the Apes franchise started a new continuity in 2011 – now being directly continued in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – I noted that the tone was much more stern than its predecessors. I wasn’t necessarily disturbed by the lack of levity, but I did note it as an interesting choice. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes the stern tone of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and expands it. The violence is more extensive, the tension much higher, and the conflicts much more dramatic. At 130 minutes, it’s also the longest film in the entire Apes series, turning it from a simple sci-fi yarn into a summertime Hollywood action epic. It’s also a pretty darn good movie.

I have to address the special effects right away. The previous film used the latest in CGI motion capture technology to make digital avatars of intelligent apes, avatars that were stirringly convincing. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is perhaps the first film I have seen to use extensive digital effects that, well, actually look real. I knew intellectually that I was looking at digital effects, but the technology has finally advanced to such a degree that I was wholly convinced of the reality of the digital imagery. Without hyperbole, I can say that this film has some of the best special effects I’ve ever seen. It perhaps helps that the digital apes and the live-action human actors do not touch one another, highlighting their on-camera differences. But looking at these apes, one can be almost 100% convinced that they are actual chimpanzees grunting English words at one another.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is essentially a mulligan for Battle for the Planet of the Apes. I think we can say that now all is forgiven. Indeed, I might even allow this film to act as penance for the much-hated 1996 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau, a enjoyably crazy but often maligned man vs. animal movie. Dawn takes place about a decade after Rise, in a near future wherein a few virus-resistant humans – the only ones left alive on a ruined Earth – live in protected cities with barely enough power to survive. The apes, including Caesar (motion capture by Andy Serkis) have formed their own rudimentary villages, complete with structures, schools, and a language that consists partly of sign language and partly of raspy English. They even have a primary law: Ape shall not kill ape, a law taken from Battle.

The story is a polemic about nonviolence vs. those who are interested in war. Caesar wants to live in peace, but is constantly butting heads with his ape lieutenant Koba (motion capture by rising star Toby Kebbell) who wants to kill all humans. Koba is clearly modeled after General Aldo from Battle. The humans, meanwhile are having a similar conflict. Peaceful engineer Malcolm (Jason Clarke) wants to trek into ape territory to fix a dam in order to power the nearby human village, whilst his violent lieutenant Carver (Kirk Acevedo) wants to kill all apes. The human characters all have direct ape analogues in the film. While the central battle will be between apes and humans, the thematic conflict will be between warmongers and peaceniks within their respective species. The themes don’t penetrate nearly as deeply as some of the previous ape movies, and they’re hardly subtle (Conquest and the original Planet were both richer and had more finesse about it), but I was relieved to see that they were present.

There is a primal, hilarious thrill to seeing an ape on horseback, firing two machine guns into the air, screaming in monkey rage, which is something that happens in the film’s climax. The film is shooting for a somber and serious tone, but at least throws me – admittedly a guy with a weird sense of humor – a few bones of fun weirdness. Or maybe I am personally too entertained by such imagery; I giggled a lot while watching the movie. Either way, it’s a good time. Dawn runs a bit too long, and some of the final act plot details seems tacked on; the final battle is actually only a penultimate battle. But overall, this is a gorgeous, fun, very entertaining movie. It’s not the best in the series (I am, for better or worse, ever a classicist who often prefers originals to remakes), but I would rank it higher than Rise. It’s a slick, fun, impeccably made action spectacular.

Where does the Apes series go from here? Dawn ends on an ambiguous note, implying that there will be future violence between ape and man. Perhaps the next film will deal more directly with the fall of humans. Is this new Ape continuity going to lead us to something like in the 1968 original, wherein apes are upright, well-dressed intellectuals, and humans are mute animals in cages? I hope so. But we’ll have to start skipping whole millennia for that, and I’m not entirely sure the filmmakers are yet ready to start this particular continuity with all new characters just yet.